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An article in today’s Dispatch showcases a proposal called The Buckeye Wind Project that would install 70 wind turbines on 9,000 acres located 50 miles west of Columbus in Champaign County. The Ohio Power Siting Board will hold a public meeting on the project on October 28th at Triad High School in North Lewisburg to weigh the pros and cons of the proposed development.
According to their website, Buckeye Wind states that each turbine could provide enough power for 600-750 homes in Ohio, while also providing new construction, operational, and maintenance jobs. Concerns raised about the project include potential environmental impacts, proximity to the Urbana municipal airport, and the visible aesthetic impact it could have on the skyline for nearby residents. Each turbine would measure 492 feet tall.
The full Dispatch article can be found here.
hmm… not far from the location i mentioned in a previous thread as perhaps a good place for windpower… ;)
The energy crisis we had last year with energy prices going through the roof maybe off everyone’s radar right now since prices have leveled off. But it will return in the near future. We need to start on this stuff yesterday. How is it that people are worried these wind turbines are going to ruin the scenery? Let’s face it, Ohio is not the most scenic state to begin with. There is not much here in terms of geography to really make this an issue. People dont come to Ohio to live here because of beautiful scenery. The real trade off is that these wind turbines could make our wallets look very scenic, with all the money in them. :)
Mattchew: This part of the state proposed for wind power might be a bit flat, but there are plenty of beautiful scenic places you can find throughout Ohio. Perhaps you need to explore the state a bit more. ;)
Anyway, I imagine the aesthetic complaints are more from the residents who would have to look at these turbines every day (the article says that they would be visible up to 5 miles away), rather than people passing through as tourists.
That being said, I don’t think having a wind turbine on your horizon is any less appealing than looking at one of these things, so I’m hoping that we can still find a way to get these up and running soon.
Incidentally, there are already a large number of high voltage lines running through that area, so don’t believe the whiners when they yell about their “unspoiled” view. The existing high voltage lines make it an even more attractive site for power generation since very little needs to be built on the distribution side.
Smog has a way of ruining scenery also…
As a resident of Champaign County – here is a link from a local board relating to the issues that have arisen.
I think that people are just whining to be whining, as I have seen the both in my home state of Illinois and the ones up in Bowling Green and I do not think that you see them from 5 miles away.
http://www.gochampaign.com/discussions.html?topic/1025
I drove across Iowa yesterday on I-80, and there are dozens, if not hundreds, of these things west of Des Moines. You definitely could see them at least five miles away, but I thought they looked really cool. I suppose my aesthetic standards may not apply to everyone, though…
We saw a lot of them in Hawaii when we went on our honeymoon to the Big Island 3 summers ago, especially on the south side of the island where it’s very windy. I thought they were really cool to look at, although I think theirs weren’t quite as well. I agree that it would add some cool scenery to the landscape. ;)
Yea, I would hate to wake up in the morning and look out at a harsh reminder of progress and renewable energy on the horizon. What a bummer ;)
There are miles of these on I 65 between Indy and Chicago. I would rather look at a windmill than power line tower. There are some things that can be done with color schemes help the towers blend in a bit more. I agree – I think they look pretty cool. Coal fields, coal mines and oil rigs look much worse in my experience. The only thing that looks better is a solar panel…..sexy.
Turbine adjudicatory hearing moved to Nov. 9
Citizen Staff Report
According to an Ohio Power Siting Board document obtained Tuesday night, the adjudicatory hearing for the Everpower Buckeye Wind project in Champaign County has been moved from Oct. 27 to Nov. 9.
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$3.7M loan earmarked to power wind hub
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
BY HOLLY ZACHARIAH
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Confident that the large wind-farm projects pending in Ohio will win state approval, Hardin County officials say they have positioned their region to be the center of it all.
Hardin County commissioners and the Ohio Department of Development announced yesterday that a $3.7 million stimulus loan will help pay for a distribution center for massive wind-turbine parts expected to roll into Ohio.
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Wind turbine blade stirs Columbus residents to think about renewable energy
By Danny Peterson
Published: Sunday, May 9, 2010
It was not the type of petition he is used to signing. With a permanent marker, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman scrawled his name on a 131-foot wind turbine blade Friday morning as it sat outside Nationwide Arena.
Hundreds of Ohioans, led by Coleman, signed the seven-ton traveling petition for the increased wind energy and jobs the wind turbines will create. The General Electric blade stopped for two days in Columbus as part of its Capture the Wind tour. It is now on its way to Dallas for the Windpower 2010 Conference and Exhibition.
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